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This report assesses the main ingredients needed to navigate the transition towards agreed nitrogen sustainability targets. Global nitrogen losses pose a serious threat to environmental sustainability and compromise the ability of the agricultural sector to feed a growing population. The first ENA Special Report ‘Nitrogen on the Table’ showed how encouraging more plant-based diets can promote human health and reduce nitrogen emissions. Building on these foundations, the present report ‘Appetite for Change’ explores pathways towards sustainable nitrogen and food choices. This report, prepared by the Expert Panel on Nitrogen and Food of the UNECE Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen, presents the main ingredients and a suggested recipe to navigate the necessary sustainability transition towards agreed nitrogen targets. It shows that a combination of diet change towards plant-based diets and technical measures across the food chain can halve nitrogen waste. It thus sets out a path to reaching targets set in the Colombo Declaration, the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Importantly, diet change can reduce pressure on land resources and mineral fertilizers, reduce energy dependency and increase resilience to food and energy crises. ‘Appetite for Change’ emphasizes how the nitrogen cycle, food system, environment and health are inextricably interlinked. It goes on to identify ambitious and systemic actions to transform the food system. There are great opportunities for reducing nitrogen losses from food production and consumption with co-benefits for nutrition and public health. To be sustainable in the longer term, nitrogen management needs to be based on a systems approach and requires responsive governance action across inter-connected policy sectors, engaging a wide set of food system actors.

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Background: There has been an increasing effort across Europe to develop national policies in food and nutrition during the last decade. However, little is known about how public health nutrition issues get on the public health agenda and the roles individuals have when these agendas are being set. Objectives: The aims of this study were to scrutinise the development process of the Slovenian national food and nutrition policy, and to identify the roles and functions of individuals who have contributed to that process. Methods: This study undertook a qualitative approach. Data collection included 18 semi-structured interviews between 2007 and 2011, and grey and scientific literature search. Text analysis was based on Kingdon's streams model, which involved highlighting the relationship between problem identification, policy solutions and political opportunities. Data were coded to identify the roles and functions of individuals participating in the agenda-setting process. Results: The analysis showed that the opportunity for the Slovenian food and nutrition policy to be developed was largely explained by a change in political circumstances, namely the accession of Slovenia to the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. Individuals with experience in policy development were identified because of their analytical, strategic and policy entrepreneurial skills. The analyst was responsible for communicating the key nutrition issues to policy-makers, the strategist joined international networks and promoted policy solutions from international experts including the World Health Organization, and the policy entrepreneur took advantage of the political situation to enlist the participation of previous opponents to a national nutrition policy. Conclusion: This study found that individuals, their roles and skills, played an important role in the development of the Slovenian National Food and Nutrition Policy. The roles and functions of these individuals, which are ide, funded by DG Educaiton and Culture - the JOBNUT project

Objectives: Little is known about current public health nutrition workforce development in Europe. The present study aimed to understand constraining and enabling factors to workforce development in seven European countries. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted and content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Setting: The study was carried out in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Subjects: Sixty key informants participated in the study. Results: There are constraining and enabling factors for public health nutrition workforce development. The main constraining factors relate to the lack of a supportive policy environment, fragmented organizational structures and a workforce that is not cohesive enough to implement public health nutrition strategic initiatives. Enabling factors were identified as the presence of skilled and dedicated individuals who assume roles as leaders and change agents. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen coordination between policy and implementation of programmes which may operate across the national to local spectrum. Public health organizations are advised to further define aims and objectives relevant to public health nutrition. Leaders and agents of change will play important roles in fostering intersectorial partnerships, advocating for policy change, establishing professional competencies and developing education and training programmes., funded by DG Education and Culture - JOBNUT project

Objective: To assess and develop a consensus among a European panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders (academics and employers) regarding core functions required for effective public health nutrition practice. Design: A modified Delphi study involving data from two rounds of questionnaires administered among a panel of public health nutrition workforce stakeholders. Setting: Europe. Subjects: A panel of fifty-three public health nutrition development stakeholders, including thirty-three academics and twenty employers, sampled from eighteen European countries. Results: Panellists rated 50 % (19/38) of the initially listed functions as core (i.e. without which public health capacity is limited), using a majority cut-off (>50 %). Out of the nineteen core functions seven were categorised under the heading Intervention management, emphasising high agreement on the importance of managing interventions in public health nutrition work. Only one of the identified core public health nutrition functions was rated differently between academics and employers, suggesting consistent identification of core functions between stakeholder groups. Conclusions: This consensus on core functions of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe can be used to promote a consistent understanding of the role and value of public health nutritionists as a discrete disciplinary sub-specialty of the public health workforce. The convergence of opinions of academics and employers, as well as comparison with previous international studies, indicates that there is a set of core public health nutrition functions transferable between countries that can be used as a benchmark to guide further development of the public health nutrition workforce in Europe., EU DG Education and Culture - project JOBNUT

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to

Public health nutrition workforce development is an important prerequisite for developing a nation’s capacity to achieve public health nutrition objectives. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about public health nutrition workforce development in Europe, in particular, about how governments have developed strategies for promoting a skilled and adaptable public health nutrition workforce and about the current workforce in terms of roles, competencies and functions. The aim of this thesis is to explore workforce development in order to identify current needs and to develop a better understanding of the policy processes that lead to public health nutrition policy changes. Initially, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted to identify enabling and constraining factors of workforce development in seven European countries (Study I). In the following case-study, the agenda setting of a food and nutrition policy in Slovenia was scrutinised by applying Kingdon’s streams model (Study II). In Study IV, the Swedish public health policy process from 1960- 2006 was examined to distinguish policy learning patterns. Finally, we conducted a Delphi-study in order to develop a set of core functions to guide strategic workforce development (Study III). This thesis shows that public health nutritionists as a workforce is largely missing in practice. In countries where public health nutritionists were recognised in policies and organisational aims and programmes, it was more likely that employers supported the roles and saw the value of employing public health nutritionists (Study 1). Investigation of specific cases showed how a food and nutrition policy could be established in Slovenia despite weak initial interest from dominant coalitions in the government (Study II). It specifically points to the importance of particular individuals and their cognitive characteristics (i.e. analytical, strategic and entrepreneurial skills) in order to